Carpet-stretcher



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Patented Jan. 13,1891.

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ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID H. MOFALLS, OFl ELLENSBURG, W'ASHINGTON.

CARPET-STRETCH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,503, dated January13, 1891. Application iilcd J'nly 14, 1890. SerialNo. 358,703. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, zit may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID H. MCFALLS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ellensburg, in the county of Kittitass, State of Washington,have invented a new and useful Carpet-Stretcher, of which the followingis a specication.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for stretching andlaying carpets; and the object of my invention is to produce a machineby means of which a carpet may be stretched to the utmost and at thesame time be tacked to the floor While held in its stretched position. Iattain these objects by means of the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a side elevation. Fig. 2 isa plan View. Fig.3 is a section on line l l of Fig. 2. Fig. t isasection on line 2 2 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the weight,showing the manner of securing the tack thereto. Fig. 6 is a detail viewof the weight, showing the tack in position.

` Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

I construct a box composed of a lower surface or base-piece A, havingits sides B C D 'extending above the base-piece A and app'roaching eachother, with the top E smaller than the basepiece A. To the lower surfaceof the base-piece A, I attach a piece of rubber for the purpose ofincreasing the friction generated by the movement of the base-piece Aalong the surface of the carpet, or corrugate the lower surface of thebase-piece A for the same purpose.

In order that I may obtain a secure hold on the carpet, I place one edgeof the carpet in contact with two hooks H, which protrude through theslanting surface of the front of the box C. The hooks H are provided atone end with a sharp point for the purpose of engaging with the carpetnear its edge, and the shank of the hook is pivoted about midway betweenits ends to the support h, extending from the vbase to the top of thebox. The hooks II are supported and strengthened by the bars g g',extending from one to the other, one of said bars being on one side ofthe pivotal support and the other on the opposite side and very near theend of the hook-bar.

The opening in the face C of the box, through which the hooks protrude,is sufficiently wide to allowT the hooks to be forced downward entirelywithin the boxA Beneath the bar g, nearest the rear end of the hooksI-I, I place a steel spring G, resting on a strip extending across thebox a slight distance above the bottom in such a position that thespring G will become contracted when the bar g is pressed downward. Tothe upper surface of the bar g I attach in any suitable manner the pedalP, which passes through the top of the box E. The end of each hook II isin contact with a spring S,

.which spring is secured to the top of the box E, and is provided with ashoulder s on the side nearest the hook, and so arranged that when thebar g is pressed downward, forcing the pointed ends of the hooks upward,the

end of the hook-shank will come beneath the shoulder s on thespring S,the spring G will be contracted, and the sharp end of the hook will beforced into the carpet near its edge. The lower end of the spring S isattached to a chain or rope in such a manner that by operating the chainor rope the hook-shank will be liberated from the shoulder on the springS and the spring G will force thehookshank upward, causing the hook tobecome disengaged from the carpet `and the edge of the carpet will fallto the oor in front of the box.

For the purpose of tacking the carpet when held in position by thestretcher, I attach to eachside of the base-piece of the box a suitablesupport, to which is movably attached the arms T, having their upperends curved or bent forward at almost or quite aright angle, forming anelbow supported and strengthened a short distance above the top of thebox by the connecting-bar t and having their ends farthest from the boxattached to a weight, usually constructed of heavy wood or iron andextending across from one arm to the other. On the lower surface of theweight when the weight is in contact with the carpet I place a series ofgrooves V, having overlapping sides o, into which groove the head of atack will fit, the shank of the tack extending outward from the Weightand the head retained in position and kept from falling out IOC by theside pieces .,which overlap the groove. (See Figs. 5 and G.) To thetopof the weight W, I secure a bail or handle X for the purpose oflifting' the weight and the arms to which it is attached.

To t-he side B in the rear of the box I secure the spring y, providednear its loose end with two projections on its upper surface a shortdistance apart, forming an opening, into which the connecting-bart isheld when the arms T are raised. Then the arms 'l are in an uprightposition, they are kept from falling by means of the spring y holdingthe bar t. To the end of the spring 3/ I attach a chain or rope, whichpasses downward about a staple attached to the lower part of the side B,just above the base-piece A of the box, in such a manner that by drawingou the chain or rope the spring y will be forced downward, liberatingthe bar t, and the arm T will descend toward the front of the box byforce of gravity, forcing the tacks secured to the weight through thecarpet into the floor.

To the rear of the box I secure in any suitable manner the tongue J, tothe under side of which I secure the chains attached to the spring y andthe spring S, which two chains I bring together and hold in connectionwith each other by means of the hook j. To the end of the chain I attacha suitable handle K, pivoted to the side of the tongue .l in such amanner that by forcing the upper portion of the handle K toward the boxthe spring S is drawn toward the rear and the spring y is drawn towardthe bottom of the box.

For the purpose of obtaining a purchase and assisting in forcing forwardthe box, aud thus the carpet, I place a notched pole M, having one endattached to the block Q by means of a bolt, securing it between two lugsattached to the block, which block is placed against the base-board onthe side of a room to which the carpet has been secured. The notches orprojections O are placed on each the upper and lower side of the pole,in contact with which is placed the end of the tongue J. By pressingdown ou the pole M the box at the end of the tongue J is forced forwardand the carpet which is attached to the hooks is stretched toward thefront of the box. About the pole M, I place the band N, extendingdownward to within a short distance of the floor, into which band thefoot may be placed, and the weight of the body of the person operatingthe stretcher may be used for the purpose of assisting in forcing thecarpet to the desired position.

When a carpet is to be stretched by my machine, one end of the carpethaving been tacked to the floor, the edge of the opposite end is turnedover against the front piece C of the box, the pedal Pis pressed down,forcing the hooks II into the carpet,and they are held in posit-ion bythe spring S. The tacks are placed in the grooves V in the weight I andthe arms T are raised and held in position by the spring y in contactwith the couneeting-bar t. The notched pole M is brought in contact withthe end of the tongue J and is forced downward, stretching the carpet tothe desired position. The handle K is then pressed forward, causing thespring S to be withdrawn from the end of the shank of the hook II,liberating the spring G, which causes the hook II to disengage itselffrom in contact with the carpet and the edge of the carpet will fallforward away from the box. At the same time the spring ,1/ will be drawnaway from the connecting-bar t, the weight lV will descend, and thetacks connected therewith will be driven through the carpet near itsedge into the floor. In order to remove the weight from in contact withthe tacks, the box and the weight must be drawn backward away from theedge of the carpet which has just been nailed and the heads 0f the tackswill be drawn from the grooves V in the weight IV. The tacks may then bedriven home by means of a hammer in t-he usual manner.

I do not limit myself to the exact number of hooks used for the purposeof engaging with the carpet, as shown and described; nor do I limitmyself to the number of tacks placedin the weight, as shown anddescribed, since it is apparent that these may be increased ordiminished withoutmaterially altering the operation of my stretcher; nordo I limit myself to the manner of attaching the springs G, S, and y orto their exact construction, as shown and described in thisspecification; but

lVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. In a carpet-stretcher, a box provided with a lower surface coveredwith rubber having attached a pole at one end, a hook engaging with thecarpet at its edge, said hook pivoted to said box, having its shank onthe opposite side of the fulcrum from the hook end attached to afastening device holding the hook in contact with the carpet, and an armattached to said box movable in a vertical plane, said arm having aweight adapted to carry a tack attached to the end of said arm,allsubstantially as described, and for the purpose as set forth.

2. In a carpet-stretcher, a box having a pole attached to one endthereof, in combination with a hook passing through a side of the boxengaging with the carpet near its edge, said hook pivoted to said box,with a spring engaging with the end of the hook-shank, holding the hookin contact with the carpet, and a spring placed beneath the hook-shank,tending to force the hook away from the carpet, all substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose as set forth.

In a carpet-stretcher, a box provided with a pole attached to one endthereof, in combination with a hook passing through a side of the box,engaging with the carpet near its edge, said hook pivoted to said box, aspring engaging with the end of the hook-shank, hold- IOO IIO

ing the hook in contactfWith-'the carpet, a spring placed beneath thehook-shank, tending to force the hook away from the carpet, an armattached to said box movable in a vertical plane, provided at one endwith a weight carrying a tack, and aspring attached to said box andengaging with said arm when the arm is lin its vertical position, allsubstantially as described, and for the purpose as set forth.

4. In a carpet-stretcher, a box provided With a pole attached to one endthereof, in combination with a hook passing through a side of the box,engaging with the carpet near its edge, said hook pivoted to said box, aspring engaging with the end ofthe hook-shank, holding the hook incontact with the carpet, a spring placed beneath the hook-shank, tendingto force the hook vaway from the carpet, an arm attached to said boxmovable in a vertical plane, provided at one end with a Weight carryinga tack, a spring attached to said box and engaging with said arm Whenthe arm is in its vertical position, chains attached to the loose endsof the springs, engaging, respectively, with the end of the hook-shankand With said arm, said chains secured together and passing along thepole toward the end of said pole farthest from the box, a handle pivotedto said pole, to which the chains are attached by the operation of saidhandle releasing said springs fronl their engagement with the hook-shankand arm, respectively,

all substantially as described, and for the pur' pose as set forth.

DAVID H. MGFALLS.

Witnesses L. A. VINCENT, W. J. RoBBtNs.

